


Novit Enim Diaboli

by ICouldntThinkOfAUsername



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Gothic, M/M, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-14 05:19:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17502356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ICouldntThinkOfAUsername/pseuds/ICouldntThinkOfAUsername
Summary: "The Devil knows"“Do not let the Devil into your heart or into your mind. Do not become the Devil’s lover, or you will never be allowed to return. For the Devil is a greater evil than you and I can understand, and it is my job to cleanse this church of all evils: to purify it until it shines with the light of glory. And I will not have anything tarnishing that reputation. So, you must take your sword in hand and vanquish the evil yourself: You must be the head of your own army and lead your own forces in this decisive value and, Tsukasa?”A Gothic Horror AU feat. the choir outfits from the Starry Night Fes event and Halloween Rei and Ritsu.





	1. Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

> HELLO. I've wanted to write this the second I got into Enstars and I'm finally getting around to doing it. Updates will be slow but I think it'll be a short little thing around 3-4 chapters so it shouldn't be too bad. I love the choir outfits and I love gothic horror so it was only a matter of time before I wrote this, really. Characters will be added as they appear but I think I'm gonna keep this small cast mostly.

He can’t breathe. He finds the entire world closing in on him as he rounds a corner, fear coursing through his veins in the moonlight. The full moon shone in the shade of blood red as he powers through the graveyard sitting beside the church. Behind him, he can hear laughing and his name in the distance. There’s no escape now, there has never been any escape. The graveyard transforms into a deep, dark forest that fills the very core of his being with terror. As he looped through the trees, he repeatedly keeps finding himself in the same clearing, over and over, the voice getting closer until it rips through him, muttering sweet nothings in his ear and for a moment, all was calm.

“Found you.”

Overwhelming pain overtook him, and as he felt his consciousness fade, he got a glimpse of the monster: covered in his blood with demonic eyes. “You’re lucky you’re too pretty to kill, Suuchan.”

Eyes snapped open and sweat pooled down his face. He touched his neck, where nothing lingered from the night prior. He felt as though he was losing it as his surroundings came back into focus. Hajime was just sitting up, looking at him with concerned eyes. The rest of the church dormitory remained fast asleep.

“Tsukasa?” Hajime asked, voice a hushed whisper in the dark.

“I don’t understand.” When he brought his hands up to his face, they were shaking like leaves, his fingers trembling as he tried to recollect himself.

“Those nightmares again?”

“They feel so real, Hajime.” But he was too loud. The room collectively groaned as they rose out of their beds, whining about their disturbed sleep and why Tsukasa was always like this. He himself didn’t understand, but he gripped his head and rocked himself back and forth, stepping out of the bed to wash his face in the basin.

“Whatever could be wrong? It couldn’t be the Devil after you, could it?” The soft voice of Eichi echoed across the hall, on the far end.

“Don’t be silly.” There was no reason to be quiet now. The morning bell rang and all the boys rose to partake in breakfast. “Though, maybe, you could be right, Big Brother.”

“Watch your back, Tsukasa. The devil targets weaknesses in all of us.” Eichi’s words always sounded cryptic and panicked, and Tsukasa was unsure what to do with them, left to his own devices. But there were chores to do and tasks to complete and Tsukasa was not about to fall behind on them.

They ate breakfast in relative silence: their porridge being simple and tasteless as always: for sugar was a sign of pleasure and associated with the Devil. The boys would dare not speak out of turn as Kunugi made the rounds. Any boy who did would get the rod. They moved on to their tasks, Tsukasa mopping the floor, down on his knees scrubbing away. The unfortunate reality was that he was terrible at it, coming from a rich family where such tasks were never necessary. Hajime had to pick up the slack, though he never minded… at least, on the surface. Tsukasa was lost in his thoughts anyways and didn’t have time for the accuracy of cleanliness.

“Hajime…”

“Yes?”

“How does one clean as well as you?”

“Well, it just stands that I am not very good at anything else.”

“I see.”

Tsukasa kept scrubbing away.

“Tsukasa?”

“Yes?”

“How can it stand that you are so good at your studies, and yet, when it comes to simple chores, you are clumsy and always get reprimanded.”

“I am plagued by awful thoughts often. It is quite terrible.”

“I see.”

And with that, there was little talk between them after a while.

“Tsukasa, you are not the only one plagued by such terrible nightmares. It seems something has infected this church and all have succumbed.”

The day passed and dinner was served, their studies passing as well. Tsukasa did well as always, but was strictly reprimanded nonetheless due to a poor job cleaning and for speaking out of turn. It seems like he would never perform like Hajime, at least, on the surface. But even if Hajime were plagued with such dreams, he never spoke of them… never speaking out of turn at all. Their dinner was ate in silence, followed by church choir practice, and night broke once again, much to Tsukasa’s terror, he decided to simply stay up for the night, venturing into the church courtyard instead of staying out any longer.

It was there among the tombstones with names of old blurred out by the elements that he saw a figure sitting on the largest grave of them all. R…u read the grave, though he could not make out all the letters. Instead, he was drawn to the figure that sat there instead, for he was beautiful, dressed in the black of night with a brilliant red rose that stood in stark contrast to the rest of his angelic features. He seemed to be asleep, as he had not noticed him yet, and that concerned Tsukasa as he called out.

“Excuse me! Excuse me, sir, are you alright?”

His eyes fluttered open, and there, Tsukasa got the same piercing view that had plagued his nightmares. Eyes of bright red, glittering rubies that contrasted fair skin.

“Whhaat? What is it? What time is it? Don’t you know that it’s rude to interrupt someone’s sleep?”

“I am terribly sorry, but you seem to have fallen asleep in the courtyard, and that is simply not acceptable.”

It was then that Tsukasa could feel those sharp eyes sizing him up, and a smirk formed on his face, black nails running through his hair.

“Oh? Did I? Sometimes I…” This mysterious figure stretched, “Fall asleep in unusual places. It’s a bad habit, really. What’s your name, kid?”

“I regret to inform you, that I am not a child. I am sixteen years of age and would like to be referred to as such. But my name is Tsukasa, of the prominent Suou family, and forgive me, for you look so familiar, but I do not think we’ve met.”

“I’m Ritsu. Sakuma. Of the Sakuma clan.” He had never heard of the Sakuma clan, but it sounded strange to him. Foreign. Unusual. “It’s nice to meet you, Tsukasa. That name is too long though. Unfortunate. We’ll have to think of a nickname for you.”

“Forgive me, but I despise nicknames.”

“Well, isn’t that too bad?”

Ritsu jumped down from his position. “Oh, the moon is high. Aren’t you out late?”

Tsukasa simply bit his lip. He had no idea how much to tell this beautiful stranger, but he had been raised to trust people. Honesty was a virtue in this town, and those that weren’t honest were often punished by God. It was why he often got into so much trouble by taking the fall, but still, he was perceived as a bad child anyways for the virtues he upheld. Ritsu stepped forward, opening his arms for him and Tsukasa felt lured in, comforted for a brief moment by Ritsu’s supposed gesture of kindness. As they embraced, Ritsu whispered in a hushed voice.

“It’s nice to finally talk with you, Suuchan.” And then pain overtook him and he screamed into the night.

~~~

The next sight Tsukasa saw was Hajime sleeping next to him, blissfully unaware of the horrors that had plagued him. But who was that mysterious figure from the night before and why was his name escaping him? What had happened to cause him to black out so suddenly? Panicked, he threw off the covers and went to go splash his face with water once again. He felt exhausted, like there was a perpetual weight and shadow on his shoulders.

When he checked the window, the moon was still high, and he felt the compulsion to go back out to the courtyard to check for that beautiful person.

Oof.

Instead, he bumped into a figure that was sneaking back into the room, eyes blown and covering his neck.

“Big brother?”

“Speak of this to no one, Tsukasa. The devil doesn’t like snitches.”

Tsukasa nodded, ducking out to find the courtyard not abandoned, but with another figure that was wiping something red off his lips as he took off into the night sky. Tsukasa screamed again, running back into the church in terror, crying bloody murder to all of his fellow choir boys in the dormitory.

“Tsukasa, there’s nothing.”

“No, you don’t understand, there was something covered in blood, with red eyes just outside in the courtyard!”

“Hah? I doubt it?”

“Tsukasa is just crazy.”

But eventually, a few of the older boys went out to investigate, finding nothing. They came back and gave him cruel eyes, leaving Tsukasa feeling completely winded. But so the day continued, and breakfast happened as normal until Eichi took him aside.

“Tsukasa? May we have a talk.”

It was there that Eichi led Tsukasa down a hall, turning one way and another until he found a little crawlspace: one that Tsukasa was completely unaware of.

“Now that we are alone. Tsukasa, I think you are being visited by the Devil. Why you have been targeted, I am unsure. I believe you, but to avoid mass panic, I think it is best that we do not inform the others. Do you understand?”

Tsukasa nodded, his face sweating from panic and feeling as though he were on the verge of tears.

“W…What do you mean the Devil?”

“Now, please understand. The Devil is inherently beautiful and kind. You should not fall for His tricks. He will try to lull you into a false sense of security and then whisk you away to the underworld to join his dark forces. I’m sure you have been experiencing unexplainable pain, correct?”

Tsukasa nodded.

“Do not let the Devil into your heart or into your mind. Do not become the Devil’s lover, or you will never be allowed to return. For the Devil is a greater evil than you and I can understand, and it is my job to cleanse this church of all evils: to purify it until it shines with the light of glory. And I will not have anything tarnishing that reputation. So, you must take your sword in hand and vanquish the evil yourself: You must be the head of your own army and lead your own forces in this decisive value and, Tsukasa?”

He was now concentrating, trying hard to make sense of what was being told to him.

“Do not let the Devil lie in bed with you. Do not let the Devil kiss you. Now, do your chores.”

And with that, Eichi was gone.


	2. Midnight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tsukasa went out again to see what had transpired the night before, only to be greeted again by a new, suspicious entity in the courtyard.

The next morning and day passed with the same nonsense as always. He aced all of his exams, but yet failed at basic maintenance and because of this, Tsukasa spent much of the day with his nose to the wall, reciting Hail Marys and getting a firm ruler across his wrists. Evening came and he found himself unable to sleep once again, so he climbed out of his room to sneak into the courtyard once more. There before him was a figure all too familiar but all too different just the same, as hovering over him was what he had only but got a glimpse of the evening prior.

“Hello, little boy.” The voice spoke, and Tsukasa made a mental note of how antiquated his language was and the certain drawl in the way he spoke that reminded him of the elders within their village. “Aren’t you handsome? I heard you’re my little brother’s favorite.” He sounded at once enticing and predatory, and Tsukasa found himself leaning into the voice, a certain fog overcoming his mind as he drifted closer to the figure.

“Yes, that’s right,” the figure spoke, “Come straight to me, my little lamb and no harm with befall you.” This man was so beautiful, his voice so enchanting, Tsukasa just nodded as his feet seemed to move on their own accord. Surely, this knight on the road bid him no harm until he snapped out of it, stepping back and stood his ground.

“Don’t you hear the bell?” Said this figure. And Tsukasa did. “It’s midnight.”

“It’s ringing you to Hell, Anija.” Deadly red eyes pierced the night as a more familiar figure came up behind this man’s ghastly frame and hit him over the head. The man winced in pain, but then smiled.

“Oh, Ritsu, I was just hunting. You’re going to scare him away.”

“Back off. That’s mine.” Ritsu all but growled. “You already have Ecchan, there’s no point in hunting here any longer.”

And “Anija” did back off, but only a little. “Ritsu, need I remind you that you need to continue feeding. There’s no point in getting attached to a human.” They spoke as though he was not there, listening, observing… panic coursed through his veins and he considered running away. Maybe the reason they were letting him overhear was because he would soon be dead. He took a step back though and Anija appeared behind him, stepping into his cold hands.

“Ah-ah… we are not done with you yet.”

And Tsukasa, with all the strength he could muster, spilled out, “You’re the Devil, aren’t you?”

It was Ritsu who responded that he was hardly the Devil, but then he smacked Anija’s hands away once again to stand beside him and Anija responded by taking off into the sky. “I love you, my beloved Ritsu, but I can only do so while you’re still alive so please take care!’

With him long gone, Ritsu took the time to clean off the tombstone he had sat on top of the night before, brushing away grime so letters could be spelled out for him.

“Ritsu Sakuma,” it read.

 “So, you’re dead?” Tsukasa asked, face paling as he became more and more suspicious of his surroundings. What was most suspicious, however, was his sheer lack of fear during these trying times, for a certain wave of calm had overcome him, lulling him into a sense of security he knew he didn’t have the luxury of having.

Ritsu merely shook his head. “I could have become a forest wanderer, marching in a parade of death like a lost soul, but where is the fun in that? Being a spirit sounds dreadfully boring, but I was… hmmm… disenchanted with the life I had been given. I don’t know if I should be telling you this, but I oncehad a lover, and I broke a promise with him. That is all I can share. But, as of right now, I would rather have my freedom about me and the tangibility to touch people like you.” With this, he caressed Tsukasa’s cheek, only to have him pull away. “I willingly gave up my soul and besides,” Tsukasa realized that Ritsu was sizing him up, “I can now find new…. Temporary lover now. By the way, did anyone ever tell you that you have the most striking red hair? It reminds me of something dear…”

Moving in again, Ritsu pushed the hair out of Tsukasa’s face, moving in and closing the gap between them but then…

“Tsukasa, what are you doing?” Came the calm but firm voice of Eichi, still wrapped up in his nightclothes, standing under the moonlight. He was armed with a crude bow and arrow, and attempted to notch one and shoot it into the sky just as Ritsu was making his escape. Ritsu disappeared unscathed and Eichi collapsed on the spot. He had been growing weaker lately, and it showed.

It was then, unfortunately, that Tsukasa saw the marks marring Eichi’s neck and put together all the pieces to the puzzle, hovering over him as he tried to regain his breath.

“Big brother?” The hurt was present in Tsukasa’s voice, “You…. You let one of them feed off of you?”

Eichi merely shrugged it off, not denying anything. For if there was one thing Eichi was not, it was a liar.

“I sacrifice myself for the sake of all my precious children, Tsukasa. You, among the rest, should not fall victim.”

But Tsukasa felt betrayed… hurt by his dear friend and person he admired. Panicking, he ran between the graves, past the posts and started to climb the small wall cutting off the inside of the courtyard with the rest of the world. There, in his nightclothes, he wandered through the streets, Eichi too weak to follow him, and found himself on a dark path that seemed to be calling him inside… to follow deep into the bowels of the forest, ignoring the “forbidden” sign marking its entrance.

It doesn’t take long through the winding trees that almost resembled faces and with the howling of wolves guiding him for him to realize he was turned around, horribly lost. There was no possible point of reentry onto the trail, and the twists and turns merely spun him around until there was nothing left for him to follow and no signs for him to return to. He came to the same river three times, and even trying to follow the river out proved useless. It was then that the howling got closer, and Tsukasa, armed with nothing, stood in the pathway of three large wolves. Their snouts were curled back in snarls as they circled him, one leaping directly for him when, out of the darkness of the woods, Ritsu appeared.

But Ritsu was not gentle. No, Ritsu tore into the beasts, ripping out their fur and flesh and tearing deep into their skin with his teeth. The scene quickly turned gory as Ritsu nearly bit off the leg of one of them, snapping the bone in the process. The smell of blood made Tsukasa panic, as did the appearance of Ritsu, now covered in red with eyes crazed in the kill frenzy of the moonlight. Tsukasa moved away, scooting back to get up and dash off, but Ritsu was unfortunately faster.

 “What is this? Don’t I get something for saving your life?”

Tsukasa felt tears well up in his eyes, with a combination of hate and fear.

“The wolves are not even dead. Like most creatures of this forest, they are not of this world.” As if on cue, wounds started to heal and the wolves all stood up, whining as they backed away from the scene of terror. “Speaking of this world. Humans are not supposed to come here. None who do leave alive. What is a boy like you doing here?”

“Big brother is a hypocrite.”

“That doesn’t explain much.”

“He told us all off for going with the Devil, yet he danced with him himself. The betrayal hurt and I guess I just… ran away.”

Ritsu moved towards Tsukasa, who still tensed up, but Ritsu had gentle hands and placed Tsukasa’s head in his lap, running fingers through his hair, bloodying up the already red mess of it. And somewhere, deep within Tsukasa came a spark: a certain, tell-tale sign that he could trust this figure and a desire to rebel against the odds and go against what he was told for the first time in his life. And in that moment, Tsukasa Suou sat up, took a demon’s face in his hands, and pressed gentle, careful lips onto his.”

Ritsu was taken aback, but just laughed it off in front of his face. “You have some guts.”

Tsukasa just shrugged, his nightclothes terribly dirty and hair full of dirt and blood.

“So, with that, what do you say, Suuchan, do you want to make a pact with the Devil?”


End file.
